


Cover Me

by broadway_and_burbank



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 10:24:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16871206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broadway_and_burbank/pseuds/broadway_and_burbank
Summary: Kristoff Bjorgman is assigned as the personal security detail to Princess Anna. Little does he know just how personal it’s going to get.





	Cover Me

**Author's Note:**

> There's honestly no reason for this. I watched The Bodyguard and I wanted to make a bodyguard au lmao

He would follow her anywhere.

Of course he would; it was his job.

When he had sat down with the head of security – after months of background checks and training and finishing his probationary period – Kristoff never would’ve guessed his assignment.

“I never place someone this new on a task of this importance,” Mr. Novak said, staring at Kristoff seriously behind his large desk. “But I feel you’re the best candidate for the job.”

Kristoff sat up straight, trying to stop a grin from spreading on his face. “Whatever it is, sir, I swear-”

“I know, you don’t have to give that spiel to me.” He quirked a think brow at the younger man. “If I didn’t trust you already, you wouldn’t be here, understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s get to business, then. You are to be the personal security detail to the princess.”

“What?” Kristoff couldn’t believe his ears; the smile he’d tried to hide for the entirety of the conversation came out.

Princess Elsa was truly a pride to their nation. He’d seen her speeches and read about her plans for the country. She knew how to handle both the press and politics, and it wasn’t unusual for her to go to diplomatic events on her parent’s behalf. She represented the country well and was known as a smart, capable, and compassionate person. People loved the King and Queen, but no one objected to the fact that she would be the Queen one day.

“Thank you, sir,” he started, trying to hide his excitement. “It would be an honor to serve Princess Elsa and the-”

“Oh, no,” Mr. Novak said, cutting him off. It almost seemed like a small grin traced the lips of the usually strict man. “Not her. The other one.”

“What?” Kristoff’s smile fell.

Princess Anna was…something else. Not that Kristoff read or even believed in tabloids, but there was _plenty_ of photographic evidence of her rather wild lifestyle.

Dubbed by many as the “Party Princess”, she was certainly one for fun; the type of fun Kristoff wasn’t remotely accustomed too. He could already see himself stuck by her side, fourteen hours a day, forced to endure parties and clubs and events and shopping and other ridiculousness that he did _not_ sign up for.

Oh God.

He thought he was going to do something important, not follow around a spoiled princess who clearly didn’t take anything seriously.

“Uh, sir, not that I’m not…um – is there anything else I can do? _Anything?_ ”

Again, the uncommon smile stayed on the face of the older man. “I’m afraid not, Mr. Bjorgman. Well, actually…”

Kristoff perked up.

“It’s either that, or I can place you by the bathrooms on the east-west side of the first floor. Your pick.”

“Why me?” Kristoff asked, knowing he sounded pathetic – especially on his first official day – but guarding the younger princess was the _last_ thing he wanted to do. Besides bathrooms.

“You’re the newest and youngest person I have on the team. The princess’ last man unfortunately had to be transferred. Apparently he ‘couldn’t keep up with her’ – his words. I need someone who can stay on top of her. Can you do that, Bjorgman? Or would you prefer standing outside the bathrooms?”

Kristoff frowned, finally sighing as he gave in. “Fine.”

“Excuse me?”

“I accept the position, sir.”

“Good.”

They stood and shook hands, Kristoff seething below the surface.

As he left the office, Mr. Novak called him back. “Oh, and Bjorgman – good luck.”

\------

He met her in the hallway.

The Princess walked toward him, phone up to her ear as she giggled obnoxiously.

Kristoff rolled his eyes.

She came up to him, bright smile and red hair flowing down her back.

“Hi!” she said cheerfully as she hung up and placed the phone in a clutch that probably cost more than Kristoff’s entire apartment.

He just gave a nod as a response, not entirely sure how to react to her.

She abruptly began to circle him and Kristoff turned around, surprised.

“What are you doing?” he asked, immediately realizing that’s probably not how he should address the Princess.

“So you’re my new security guy, right?” She stopped circling him and looked up curiously.

“Yes, Princess.”

“Oh, you can call me Anna.”

“Alright, Princess Anna.”

“No, just Anna.”

“I don’t think so.”

She suddenly crossed her arms. “What’s your name?”

“Bjorgman.”

“That’s your _name?_ ”

“Last name, yes.”

“I obviously meant your first.”

“Kristoff.” He tried not to roll his eyes again. First day was going swimmingly.

“Well, Kristoff, do you know why my last security detail left?”

“Mr. Novak said he…wasn’t fit for the job.”

“I believe it was something more like he couldn’t...handle me.” She shrugged nonchalantly, but looked up at him, smiling excitedly. There was something different in her eyes. Something that almost looked like a challenge. “Think you can handle me, Kristoff Bjorgman?”

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“I hope not.” She promptly turned around and headed back down the expansive hall.

“Where are we going?” Kristoff asked as he caught up to her.

“Out.”

‘Out’ had apparently just meant shopping.

And they had been ‘out’ for three hours.

Kristoff couldn’t believe his bad luck.

The car had dropped them off in the city, they joined a group of girls dressed to the nines – presumably her friends – and they’d been out for hours, each one looking for a new dress or outfit for some party or event or whatever – Kristoff wasn’t paying attention.

His job was to watch out for threats and protect the Princess, not listen to her blabber on about something that really didn’t matter.

He stood against a wall of the umpteenth high-end place and tried to resist the urge to bash his head into the concrete.

The girls were all milling about, each with their own almost equally well-dressed helper with them. All except for one. He noticed the Princess make her way over to him, holding a bundle of light purple fabric in her arms.

“I want to try this on.”

“Huh?” That was also probably not a good response, but it just slipped out.

“I think I’m going to pick this one, but obviously I want to try it on first.”

“Okay?” Why was she telling him that?

She looked up at him strangely. “Do you have to come with me? My last guy, Anders, was always panicked about something and followed me _everywhere._ He literally even stood outside the bathroom when I had to pee. But the guy before that just really didn’t care at all so he barely noticed when I left – oh, and he was fired, don’t worry – and the guy before that-”

“Oh! Uh…” Right. His job. “Yeah…yeah I should probably-” Kristoff cleared his throat. “Lead the way.”

“Great!” She smiled at him and spun on her heels to the back of the store.

They passed multiple grinning, robotic looking women and made it to the dressing rooms.

The section was furnished just as well as the rest of the store, with women and men sitting on lavish couches or entering and exiting the smaller rooms.

There were security guards tastefully sprinkled throughout, which Kristoff understood as everything was so expensive he didn’t even want to get near anything.

A woman came and opened one of the large, glossy wooden doors for the Princess.

“Would you like any help, Princess Anna?”

“I think I’m okay! Thank you!”

The woman nodded and smiled before shutting the door.

Kristoff stood outside and heard the rustling of fabric as she presumably changed into the dress.

“Enjoying your first day, Kristoff?” she asked through the door, and he could swear there was something sarcastic or teasing in her tone.

“It’s great, Princess.”

“Anna.”

“It’s great, Princess Anna.”

He could practically hear her eye roll as she sighed. “You’re lying.”

Kristoff spotted some of her friends enter dressing rooms themselves, someone carrying long gowns behind them.

Obviously any of these people’s clothes would be too nice for him, but those dresses looked especially extravagant. Probably not something you would wear to just any party.

Anna’s was so balled up in her arms, he couldn’t even tell what it looked like. But it was undoubtedly just as elegant.

“So, what is this for, exactly?” Kristoff asked, turning to face the wood of the door.

“What is what for?”

“I mean, what event is all this for?”

“We’ve been talking about it all day, haven’t you been listening?”

_No._ “I forgot.”

“Lying,” she said again, but answered him anyway. “It’s for a charity ball.”

“…oh.” That certainly wasn’t what he was expecting.

“It’s not for a while, but it’s nice to be prepared!” She was silent for a moment. “Kristoff?”

“Yes, Princess?”

“I was wrong. I do need help.”

“Oh.” Kristoff took a step away from the door. “Uh, let me grab one of the women who work here, or one of your friends-”

“No! I want it to be a surprise reveal! Can you just come in here?”

“Uh…” Kristoff looked around for a moment. Everyone was busy with something else, but still, he felt like it was very, _very_ bad form to be in the Princess’ dressing room. Especially on the first day.

“I literally just can’t get this zipper up. Please?”

Dammit.

He took a deep breath and opened the door, quickly slipping inside and closing it behind him.

She smiled at him and nearly hopped up and down. “Thank you! It’ll just take a moment, I promise. I think the zippers stuck.”

“Fine,” Kristoff said, a bit too harshly. He just wanted to highlight his indifference.

The Princess turned around and pulled her loose hair over her shoulder, revealing her pale back and her shoulders smattered with freckles.

The entire back of the dress was open and the zipper lay useless on the small of her back.

Suddenly, Kristoff felt his entire throat go dry as he stepped toward her. He gently grabbed the zipper, trying to ignore how sweaty his hands were getting.

“My job is to protect you – not do _this._ ” Again, it came out rather gruff, but he wanted her to understand how much he definitely didn’t enjoy this.

“Well, I appreciate it.” She looked up at him in the mirror. He quickly looked back down.

Kristoff tugged a little harder and the zipper obeyed, disappearing into the seams of the dress.

“Thank you,” she said again, smiling into the mirror and smoothing down the dress. “So, what do you think?”

She turned around and Kristoff wondered if the air conditioning didn’t quite reach inside the smaller rooms.

It was tight, sleeveless, and went down to the floor. Kristoff didn’t know anything about gowns or dresses, but he thought she looked _perfect._

“It’s…good. I think.” He faked a cough and shrugged. “But, uh, I’ve never been to those kinds of things, so I can’t really say.”

“Consider yourself lucky; they’re so boring.” The Princess turned back to the mirror and Kristoff had to fight the urge to roll his eyes.

Right. Of course she’d feel that way about _charity._

“Well, it’s for charity so at least it’s for a good cause.” If she wasn’t the princess he would’ve drilled the idea through her head.

“Of course it’s for a good cause, but no one there actually cares about it. It’s so sad.”

“What?” He _definitely_ wasn’t expecting that answer.

She turned back to him and began to play with the hair draped over her shoulder. “I mean it’s good at least a charity gets money, but it still feels dirty. It’s not like anyone does it just for a sake of giving. Do you know how rich these people are? They have more money than they know what do with, but they never donate anything unless it’s at one of these events where the biggest spender gets a pat on the back and everyone talks about how selfless they are. But the money really means nothing to them and they only do it because it makes them look good. And I know what you’re going to say: I’m the princess, so I don’t even know what I’m talking about, and maybe that’s true, but, well, I don’t know, I just feel like you should give out of the kindness of your heart, not because people will praise you for it. Giving money to people or places who need it will always be good, but the reason for doing it really determines what kind of person you are.”

Kristoff was stunned into silence. That was unexpected. “Uh, yeah.”

“Oh, shit,” Anna sighed but gave him a weak smile. “I was talking too much again, wasn’t I? Well, anyway, thanks for the help!” She passed by him and opened the door, leaving Kristoff alone in the dressing room.

What the hell?

\------

The next few days weren’t as bad as Kristoff expected.

Apparently the Princess didn’t like being cooped in the palace, so they were rarely ever in it.

He’d follow her around the city with various groups of people – she seemed to never be in want of company – and eye the surrounding public cautiously. It was mostly just tourists who wanted a picture or video of the Princess, but they weren’t exactly discreet when they took one.

Obviously any member of the royal family or those acquainted with them lived in a fish bowl – cameras were everywhere. But Kristoff always kept up his guard, stopping anyone who tried to get to close or threatening the people whose presence crossed a line into harassment.

It wasn’t awful, he could handle it, and Princess Anna…wasn’t that bad either.

He wouldn’t go so far as to say he enjoyed her company, but be didn’t… _not_ enjoy her company. His duty as her security detail wasn’t as grating on his nerves as he previously thought.

And he also actually began to listen to her conversations with those around her. He never spoke up unless addressed or ushering the Princess to a different location, but he listened.

She could be pretty funny.

Kristoff didn’t consider himself as someone who was thrown off easily, but he found it wasn’t unusual for her to surprise him in some way or another.

One sunny day, while she sat outside a café with an especially small group of only three people, she laughed.

Well, no, she didn’t laugh – she snorted.

Someone had walked by the café with the shortest and longest wiener dog Kristoff had ever seen.

The dog was obviously struggling to keep up with their person’s long strides, so it stopped. It stopped walking and simply sat down on the pavement.

Clearly annoyed, the person stomped over to the dog and picked it up, deciding it would be faster.

Wrong decision, as right when the man held the animal to his chest, the dog peed.

The man was wearing a white shirt and the bright yellow liquid began to spread over the fabric. The man screamed and plopped the dog back on the ground before having an absolute _meltdown._ It was pretty pathetic.

Kristoff was watching the scene when he heard the sound behind him.

He turned back to face the Princess and she was bent over in her chair, shrieking and snorting and honestly crying as she struggled to breathe. Her acquaintances were laughing too, but Princess Anna was practically howling.

It was one of the strangest and most unprincessy things Kristoff had ever heard.

He found himself smiling.

_Stop it,_ he told himself as her turned back to the street and the man stalked off with the dog proudly padding by his side, its stubby legs moving vigorously.

Looking intimidating was part of the job; he wasn’t supposed to _smile._

It didn’t matter if the Princess’ laugh still rung loud behind him.

“Kristoff!” she called out, still laughing. “Did you see that?” She was always doing that – bringing him into the moment as if he wasn’t just supposed to stand and observe.

But he couldn’t ignore her.

“Yes, Princess. I did.” He turned back around and she grinned up at him, but quirked her head to the side.

“Wasn’t it funny?”

“Very funny.”

She rolled her eyes, glancing at her tablemates as if to say _get a load of this guy,_ before she looked back to him.

“You guys are always so serious! You can laugh you know! A dog just peed on a guy – that’s pretty great.”

“If you say so, Princess.”

She just huffed and went back to whatever she was talking about before, but the peeing dog wasn’t what made Kristoff smile when she laughed again.

\------

About a week after he started his position, Anna went out, but this time it was just the two of them.

Again, Kristoff found himself surprised.

She was almost always surrounded by people, but as the driver dropped them off at the biggest park in the city, Kristoff noticed the lack of any.

It was a weekday, so it wasn’t as bustling as it usually was.

He followed Princess Anna through the park and eventually they got to a dirt trail through the woods.

She was also quieter than usual. It was…interesting.

“I like to come out here sometimes,” she said, even though he didn’t ask the question. “I mean, I love people. I like being around people. But sometimes it’s nice to just be by myself for a little bit. Or, well, mostly by myself.” She shot him a grin over her shoulder and Kristoff didn’t know why he almost gave her one back.

“That’s fair.” He decided that was a safe, neutral answer.

“It’s just…a lot sometimes.”

She seemed to be confessing something to him, and Kristoff didn’t know what to say, so he stayed silent, per usual.

She suddenly left the path, dipping through the trees.

Kristoff immediately went after her, moving up her side. “Princess Anna, what-”

“I’ve done this a million times, it’s fine! This is my favorite spot – people don’t really go here.”

“I think we should stay on the path.”

“Jeez, you’re almost as bad as Anders. Will you just trust me?”

He had no reason too, and he probably shouldn’t have let the Princess just wander around a forest, but he’d keep track of where they were and it really didn’t seem dangerous at all, so he just nodded his head.

“Thank you.”

It was silent for a moment as the two walked side by side, then Anna started to talk again.

“So, Kristoff, are you from around here?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“The city.”

“Never would’ve guessed,” she said sarcastically, looking up at him. “What did you do before this?”

“Something else.”

She huffed and looked back through the trees.

“I’m just trying to get to know you. We’re stuck together for most of the day, so why not at least talk to each other? I mean, you’re my _personal_ security guy – we could get a little personal.”

Kristoff felt himself flush slightly at her words. He was alone with the Princess in the middle of the woods and she wanted to get personal? Wasn’t going to happen.

He didn’t respond, so she just rolled her eyes. “Okay, how about this? We can ask each other questions, and if the other thinks it’s too intrusive, they don’t have to answer it.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“You’re literally no fun.”

“It’s not my job to be fun.” But Kristoff saw her pout in his peripherals and felt the corners of his mouth quirk up.

“But no one is here. That’s my favorite thing about this place! There’s no cameras or anything – you could just not do your job if you want? I won’t tell.”

“Why would I take this job if I didn’t want to do it?”

“Because they put you here and you really didn’t have any other options.”

_Would you prefer to stand outside the bathrooms?_ Kristoff cringed as he remembered that, a slight feeling of guilt in his gut.

But she didn’t need to know about that, so Kristoff shook his head. “It’s an honor to-”

“Stop.” She froze in her spot, looking up at him fiercely. Kristoff wasn’t trained for this.

“What?”

“I hate when people lie to me. Please don’t do that.”

Again, guilt stabbed him in the side. “I’m not-“

“You know Lana right? My night guard?”

“…yeah?”

“She was my person in the day for a while when Anders left. She told the new guy wasn’t exactly thrilled about his position, so I should go easy on him. I shouldn’t try to run him off as fast as the others.”

Kristoff just looked down, suddenly feeling embarrassed. If he could go back to when he got hired, he would’ve punched himself.

“You don’t have to like me. I know you don’t want to be here, but just please don’t lie to me, okay?”

“I’m sorry.” Kristoff didn’t like how horrible he felt. She was just trying to be nice. Granted, he didn’t _have_ to be nice back, but there was no reason not to be.

She just shrugged and kept walking, but her face looked unusually downtrodden.

Kristoff caught up to her, about to apologize again, but she spoke first.

“And I don’t mean to scare anyone away. I just…haven’t found the right fit. Story of my life, right?” She seemed to be talking more to herself than to him. “Most of the other guards just didn’t really like me I guess. Lana’s really nice to me, though. I think she likes me.”

“I like you,” Kristoff said before he could stop himself. He didn’t know why seeing her unhappy made him want to fix it.

“I just told you not to lie.”

“I’m not.”

Anna stopped again and gave him a scrutinizing look, trying to decide if he was being genuine or not.

“You’re right, I really didn’t want this position at first, but I was wrong. You’re…not what I expected, and I’m sorry.”

She still looked a bit upset, but a small smile crossed her lips. “I know what most people expect of me, but I’m glad you don’t agree with them. And thank you for telling me the truth.” She suddenly stuck out her hand. “Shake on it – we’ll be honest with each other. I think that’s important when it comes to the trusting thing.”

She _was_ right – honestly and trust were crucial to their…partnership, so Kristoff took her hand and shook it.

It was just a handshake, but she beamed up at him.

“And also you have to tell me something about yourself!” she yelled before she tore her hand away triumphantly.

“Wh-”

“You just shook on it! No take-backs!”

Kristoff wanted to roll his eyes, tell her that was childish and he didn’t have to reveal a damn thing.

He did roll his eyes, but he found himself smiling instead of telling her no. There weren’t any cameras, after all.

“I have a dog.”

“Oh! What’s his name?” She actually looked interested.

\------

He also learned that being Princess Anna’s security detail wasn’t just about protecting her from outside threats – he was literally protecting her from herself.

That girl had so many close calls Kristoff began to lose count.

She would run down the huge steps and very quickly lose her footing, Kristoff having to catch her at the last moment. At first he thought it was a freak accident, but he soon realized she was just too clumsy for her own good.

He stuck close by her on the stairs, because even if she was taking her time, it wasn’t unusual for her to see a person she wanted to talk to and bolt down the steps again.

Even just walking normally could be a challenge.

Once she even decided it would be a great idea to walk backwards.

“Kristoff! Be my eyes! Tell me if I’m going to walk into anything!”

“With all due respect, Princess,” He carefully guided her through the other people on the sidewalk, most of whom stopped and stared. “This seems like a very-”

Naturally, her small heel caught in a grate and she quickly fell backwards.

Kristoff lunged forward as if his instincts were made for that as his arms wrapped around her waist, stopping her decent to the ground.

Her hands automatically grabbed the lapels on his uniformed suit jacket, trying to keep herself up, even though he had her safe in his grasp.

“It’s okay,” Kristoff said, helping stand her up. “I got you.”

Anna gave him an adorably awkward smile.

Wait, _Anna?_ When did he call her that? Well, if it was in his head then it was okay, right?

She grinned at him again and quickly removed her hands, realizing they were still digging into his jacket. “Sorry…that was like, a crazy trust exercise, right?”

“Well, I would hope you would trust me by now.”

“I do.”

Kristoff felt himself blush and backed up, deciding it was too hot outside to stand that close to anyone.

Especially the Princess.

Especially Anna.

\------

When it had been a month, Mr. Novak called Kristoff into his office to see how things progressed.

He was pleasantly surprised when Kristoff said it was going really well.

Kristoff surprised himself by admitting he was thankful he got the position.

He omitted the fact that guarding her felt like the most important thing he’d ever done.

That night, he accompanied Anna to one of the many clubs she liked to frequent. It was the kind of place where only ‘somebodies’ got in, and Anna was certainly a somebody.

Kristoff would stand at alert, keeping track of his surroundings, and then his eyes would drift toward Anna, dancing with a kind of unrestrained wildness.

The rest of the room and noise would melt away and it would only be her, singing and dancing and spilling her drink to the music.

Sometimes, her eyes would find his, and a spike of adrenaline would shoot up his spine. He didn’t know why.

That kind of feeling only kicked in when there was a threat, but there hadn’t been any.

There was something dangerous in her beautiful, kind eyes.

Eventually, Anna grew tired and pulled some friends off the dance floor, then headed back to the bar.

Kristoff remembered that he had a _job_ to do and he would straighten up for his own sake, pulling on his jacket or checking his earpiece as if there was something wrong with it.

He watched across the crowded room as Anna got another drink and giggled drunkenly with the other girls.

They all sat on a cushy…thing (Couch? Loveseat? Big footstool? These clubs always had weird looking furniture) and laughed so loudly he could hear them even over the music.

For the next few minutes he kept the same positon, until he noticed them all smiling at him suddenly.

Kristoff looked behind him, assuming someone rich and famous was walking toward them, but everyone else was either involved in their own conversations or dancing.

He looked back and they were all giggling at him.

He felt his face warm up, suddenly embarrassed. Why were they looking at him like that? He gave himself a quick once over but everything seemed normal.

Anna stood up and wobbled for a moment before she handed her drink to one of the other girls.

She began to make her way over to him, grinning the entire way, and Kristoff shifted uncomfortably under her stare.

“Hi,” she yelled as she got to him.

Kristoff had learned that she got quite a bit louder when drunk, but at most of the places it was actually helpful in order to hear.

“Do you need anything, Princess?” he asked, also having to yell over the music.

“Yes – a question.”

“What?”

“I need a question!” She screamed louder than was actually necessary.

“You…need a question?”

“No, wait, _you_ need a question!”

Kristoff had no idea what was going on; the other girls were still looking at them.

“I don’t understand.”

Anna rolled her eyes like she was saying the most obvious thing in the world. “You need a question, and I need an answer.”

“Oh, do you _have_ a question?”

“Yes!” Anna squealed, excited he finally got it. “I have a question and _you_ have an answer.”

“…okay?”

“My friends over there,” she pointed back to the girls on the couch and they all waved, “we have a bet. You have to answer a question.”

“You’re betting weather or not I can answer a question?”

“ _Kristopher,_ ” she whined suddenly leaning on him. Kristoff blushed again and tried to hold her up, separating them.

She tended to call him Kristopher when she got drunk and giggle about how silly it was and got more touchy than normal.

Not that he minded – it just…it wasn’t professional.

“Stop making things so difficult!” Anna whined again while standing on her own once more, albeit rather unsteadily. “So are you going to answer me or not?”

“You never asked me anything.”

“Oh! Right! Do you have a girlfriend?”

“I…what?” Kristoff was completely taken aback by the question.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked again. “They all bet you did but _I_ said you didn’t!”

“Oh…uh,” Why did all these clubs get so unbearably hot? “Um, no. No, I don’t.”

Again, Anan squealed, but this time she threw herself at him and hugged him around his neck. “Thank you! I knew it!”

She smelled of something fruity and as she pulled back, her eyes shone.

Kristoff cleared his throat and gently pushed her off.

“How, ah, how did you know?”

Anna shrugged but smiled all the same. “Lucky guess! Or maybe I just hoped you didn’t.”

“…what?” He felt his heart constrict in his chest.

“I just won three hundred dollars!” she cheered, heading back to her friends as if she forgot what she had just said.

Kristoff didn’t forget though.

\------

“How do I look?” Anna asked when she finally opened the door to her room.

They were going to a party at the mansion of some rich douchebag who Anna didn’t even really like that much, but all her friends were going so she _had_ to go and she wanted to look ‘super-incredibly-fantastic’ without seeming like she was trying too hard, y’know?

It was a short, yellow dress – nothing too excessive, but she looked radiant as she twirled her hair between her fingers and let it spill onto her exposed shoulder.

“You, uh,” Kristoff took an obligatory look around the hallway, making sure no one was there. “It looks nice.”

“Just nice?” She looked disappointed.

“No! I mean, um, great. It looks great.”

“But not super-incredibly-fantastic-great?”

Kristoff wasn’t entirely sure why the words mattered, but it was clearly important to Anna, so he would try. “I think,” he stared, trying to calm down the ridiculous hammering in his chest. “You look _wonderfully_ super and incredibly fantastic. And great.”

The smile of relief on her face brought one to Kristoff’s as well. Anna closed the large door to her rather messy room and looped her hand through Kristoff’s elbow.

He assumed she always did that as a joke, and he couldn’t tell her how good her hand felt on his bicep.

“You know, I could say the same thing about you.”

Kristoff rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the slight blush on his face. “Yeah right – I have to wear this.”

“You work a tie, what can I say?”

Apparently, that was all she needed to say for Kristoff to feel his entire body breakout in goosebumps.

“Okay, so,” Anna started talking again. “This party’s being thrown by John something-or-other, I don’t know, but one of his best friends is this total asshole who is awful and terrible and I hate him so I have to look amazing to show that I’m above him.”

Kristoff nodded as they left the hall and continued down a flight of stairs. “Well, first of all, from the way you describe him, you’re already way above him.”

“What’s the second thing?”

_You always look amazing._

“That…um, I’m wondering if he’s someone I should worry about?”

“Oh, nah,” she waved her hand lie she was swatting away a fly. “He’s harmless. Just an ass.”

Kristoff couldn’t help but grin as they reached the bottom of the staircase. “Well, just to be safe, I’ll keep a look out for an ass, okay?”

Anna giggled and smiled at him until she bit her lip and looked away. “Yeah…maybe you should.” Then she removed her hand from his arm and hurried in front of him toward the door where the driver was waiting.

Her dress was rather tight and completely showed off her figure. Kristoff shouldn’t have looked, but he absolutely did. And if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve sworn she swung her hips as she walked.

The car ride was unusually quiet for them.

They sat in their respective seats and Anna simply gazed out the dark window at the lights of the city passing them in the night.

Kristoff looked out of his as well, every so often glancing at Anna. She was chewing on her lip and played with her hands.

“Hey,” Kristoff said, getting her attention and resisting the urge to place his hand over hers. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” she sighed, finally looking at him. “I just haven’t seen this guy in a while and – it’s nothing. It’ll be fine.”

But it didn’t seem fine.

It was clear which extravagantly wealthy mansion hosted the party – cars were parked up multiple blocks and the music from the house was nearly too loud even in the car.

The driver dropped them off and went to find a place to wait for the duration of their time there.

Anna quickly met up with her friends and Kristoff found a spot to watch.

At first everything appeared normal, but as the night wore on and Anna got more drinks, he noticed multiple death glares toward one specific person.

He didn’t know the guy she was looking at, but he certainly looked like a dick. Who still had sideburns in the 21st century? And he just had one of those faces Kristoff wanted to punch, especially when he saw him staring at Anna when she wasn’t looking.

Anna wasn’t her usual, giggly self. She seemed sullen and angry and when she finished the drink she had in her hand, she threw the cup down and got up to go to another part of the house. Her friends stayed put, but the man she was staring daggers at followed her along with some other guys. Kristoff immediately followed them, a bad feeling growing in his gut.

He landed in another large room where young, drunk people danced and screamed and threw up in vases that – by the look of them – were antiques.

Anna wasn’t that drunk, but she wasn’t completely sober either, so Kristoff rushed over to her as she dunked a new cup into a glass punch bowl.

“I think you should stop.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” She’d never snapped at him like that, and Kristoff knew it had something to do with the group of men standing on the other end of the room, watching them.

“I have a really bad feeling-”

“Then deal with it, Kristoff!” She turned to him and his chest ached at how sad she looked. “ _Your_ job to protect me, so focus on that. _My_ job is to have fun! So I’m going to have fun!” She took a large sip from the cup and left him there, crossing to the crowd of dancers and joining right in.

But there was something different about her. She wasn’t fluid and free like she always was – she looked stuff and uncomfortable, as is she were only doing it out of obligation.

Kristoff went over to the group and tugged Anna away gently. “We can go back.” He tried to reason with her over the volume of everything else.

“No!” She ripped her arm back to her body. “I’m having fun! I don’t want to go!”

Kristoff glanced up and made eye contact with the green-eyed bastard. He was closer that time. “If he’s making you uncomfortable, we can leave. You don’t have to prove anything.”

“I’m fine!” Anna gulped down the liquid and looked into the empty cup. “I’m getting another drink.” She pushed past him and went back to the bowl.

Kristoff followed. “Really, Princess Anna, I think-”

“Leave me alone, Kristoff!”

“Is something wrong?” The voice that spoke up dripped of smugness.

Kristoff looked away from Anna to see the guy with the dumb face and his stupid cronies behind him.

“We’re fine,” Kristoff said blankly, crossing his arms. He was taller than the other man, so he had that in his favor.

“Well, I just wanted to say hi to my friend. That’s okay, right?” He snaked around and gave a sarcastic wave to Anna.

“We’ve been trying to get you to one of these parties for a while; where have you been?”

“Avoiding you,” she spat, finally putting her cup down on a table.

“Really? Because I talked to Simon a few weeks ago. Seems like that’s where you’ve been. And before that it was Thomas, and before that it was Neil, and before-”

“Shut up!” Anna looked so upset, her eyes filling with angry tears, and Kristoff felt his fits clench at his sides.

“Do you really miss me that much, _Princess?_ You know, if you just ask nicely, I’ll think about it.”

“Fuck off!”

The guys behind the leader laughed, and Kristoff didn’t give it another moment before he grabbed him and lifted him off the floor.

The other guys stopped laughing.

“She told you to go.”

The man looked nervous, but quickly recovered his unbothered appearance. “I can have you arrested if you don’t let me go _right now._ ”

Kristoff did let him go – in a way. He shoved him into the nearest wall; the sound of the asshole’s head making contact with the rough surface was extremely satisfying.

He held him right against the wall, hand tight on his throat. “And I have the legal right to use force if I feel the Princess is being threatened.” Kristoff could feel most of the eyes in the room on him, but he didn’t care. “If you don’t take your sorry ass back to the little hole you crawled out of, I am going to make you regret _every_ word you’ve ever said to her.”

The other man nodded his head desperately, grabbing to Kristoff’s arm to let him go.

He did, and man stumbled over, gasping for air.

“Don’t worry about it,” one of his crones said as they helped him stand up straight.

“She’s not worth it,” another one agreed, glaring at Anna.

The snake spit on the floor and looked between Kristoff and Anna, gingerly rubbing his throat. “Have fun with her,” he sneered at Kristoff. “She’s already been through most of the guys here, anyway.”

Before Kristoff had the chance to knock the asshole down, Anna moved faster.

Her fist collided with his mouth so hard, he fell over onto the floor.

There was an almost collective gasp as the room witnessed their crowned princess knock someone to the ground.

That was when Kristoff noticed the phones that had undoubtedly already been out for the entire confrontation.

“Oh, shit – we have to go.” He grabbed her arm again and pulled them out of the room as fast as he could with Anna faltering behind him.

He all but ran around the house and after plenty of unhelpful directions and best guesses, Kristoff managed to find the kitchen.

It was more like a kitchen for a hotel or restaurant than one of a house. But it was large and empty and most importantly, quiet.

He gently picked Anna up and placed her on one of the counters. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

She nodded her head silently, staring at her hand.

“Can I see your hand?”

She held it out for him and Kristoff inspected the already bruised and bloodied knuckles.

“Okay, give me a second.” He grabbed a dishtowel and went to one of the many fridges, filling the towel with ice. He wrapped it up and went back to Anna, placing it delicately over her hand. “Just hold this on here, okay?”

She nodded silently again, holding the bundle over her knuckles.

Kristoff leaned against a counter opposite to her and crossed his arms, thinking back to what just happened.

It was silent for another few moments until Anna spoke up. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“I don’t care that you yelled at me; I care that you’re upset.” It was absolutely none of his business, but he had to ask. “Who was that guy?”

Anna sighed and poked at her hand.

“Don’t irritate it.”

“Sorry. His name is Hans Westergaard. His dad is like a gazillionaire or something. Point is, I – well, I hate him.”

“I can tell.”

“Okay, I’m not proud of this, but I’m just gonna go ahead and say it.”

“You can tell me anything.” Kristoff didn’t know where that came from, but Anna looked grateful to hear it.

“He was my first love. Or, I thought he was. I had seen him around and we flirted a bit, but nothing really happened until after I turned eighteen about two years ago. I started going out more and I just…I just wanted to feel like an adult. And he was always so kind and laughed at my jokes and made me feel like I was really something special. It was only a few days until he told me he loved me. And like an idiot I believed him.”

“Stop.” Kristoff cut her off and shook his head. “Don’t do that. Don’t beat yourself up.”

“But Kristoff it was _so stupid._ Looking back it’s so clear everything was a lie. He told me he loved me, I slept with him, and suddenly he was never nice to me again. And after…I was so devastated. He was my first in every way and I _hate_ him, but he’s right – I miss him. I’ve spent the past few years trying to feel the way I did when I was first with him. But every guy is always the same – they’re so sweet to me and I…well, they just run off the next morning to tell all their friends how they banged the stupid and slutty princess.”

“ _Stop it._ ” He didn’t mean to get so annoyed, but the things she was saying – they were so awful. How could she believe that? He wanted to personally break the jaw of every man who’d ever used her like that. “You’ve been hurt. People have taken advantage of you, but that’s on _them._ It doesn’t make you stupid.”

“I just don’t know why he still gets under my skin so much. It’s been two years – I should be over it. But I’ve never felt the way I had with him and…I’m worried he’s the only person who can make me feel that way.”

“I _promise_ you that’s not true. You’re…incredibly strong and more importantly, you’re _good._ You are so good.” He had never wished more for a thesaurus in his life, but pulling out his phone would probably ruin the perfect, affectionate expression on her face. “You are just… _such_ a good person and no one can ever take that away from you. One day you’ll find someone who sees that. They won’t see Princess Anna. They won’t see a title with a body. They’ll just see you.”

“Just me?”

“Just you. I promise.”

Anna grinned and looked down at the towel. “You’re really good at this.”

“At what?”

“Talking to people. Giving advice.”

Kristoff actually almost laughed. “Trust me, I’m not. I’ve just been through the wringer before, too.”

“What do you mean?” She looked at him curiously.

Kristoff sighed and pushed himself off his counter, coming to lean next to Anna. He held up a fake-threatening finger.

“If you tell anyone this, I’ll deny it. I’ll call you a liar for the rest of your life.”

Anna just smiled and made the motion of zipping her lips with her good hand.

Kristoff couldn’t help but sigh again. No one except his family knew, but if it would make Anna feel better, than he’d tell her.

“I used to be in love, too.”

“Really?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” He was teasing, but Anna looked down apologetically from her perch on the counter.

“No, I’m sorry. I guess I just – I didn’t exactly take you for the romantic type.”

“Well I was younger. I was stupid.”

“Hey, if I can’t call myself stupid, then you can’t either.”

“Okay.” She looked so serious that all Kristoff could do was agree. “I was nineteen. I was _so_ in love with this girl. Her name was Olivia. At the time, I hadn’t even told my family yet, but we were planning on moving to the states.”

“Wow, really?”

“I didn’t even want to, but I was in so deep, I would’ve done anything for her.” He shrugged nonchalantly, but the memories hurt more than he thought they would. He hadn’t thought about her in a long time.

“What happened?” Anna prodded gently.

“I found out she was cheating on me. Even planned on starting a new life with this other guy, too.”

“Oh, Kristoff.”

“I was _crushed._ I thought it was my fault. I thought I was insignificant and not worthy of anyone. I really believed that for a long time.”

“But that’s not true!” Anna pushed, taking the now wet towel off her hand. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“What happened to you wasn’t your fault either. That Hans guy is a dick. And so is everyone else you’ve ever been with.”

“I know, so why am I like this? Why do I just let them…” she trailed off, inspecting her injuries again.

“You know, my mom told me something, and when I first heard it I thought it was utter horseshit.”

Anna giggled and the sound made the air leave Kristoff’s lungs.

“But, uh, she said something like the pain will hurt, but it won’t define who are you are. It took years for me to realize I wasn’t nothing, even if I’d been treated that way. And I don’t think you’re stupid; I think you’re brave.” Kristoff had never talked to someone about his past, and certainly not in that length, but Anna made him feel weirdly safe. Unusually safe. Comfortably safe.

She gazed down at him with the most unreadable expression on her face, but he couldn’t look away from her eyes.

“Why?” she asked quietly.

“Because you’re brave enough to keep your heart open. I’ve pretty much shut mine off after that.”

Anna’s non-injured hand found its way to his cheek, and Kristoff didn’t understand why his chest suddenly felt like it was about to burst. She was so close to him, her face mere inches away from his.

“You should try to open yourself up again.”

“…I think I’m starting to.”

There was some commotion in the hall and Kristoff pulled away, ready for a fight if it was Hans again.

But only a few stoned people rolled in, laughing and pulling more drugs out of their pocket.

Kristoff looked back to Anna, and she was messing with her hand again, but her cheeks were bright red.

“I think we should get you home,” Kristoff suggested.

“Yeah, probably.”

He helped her off the counter and called the car to come back around.

“We’ll have someone look at that when we get back to the palace, okay?” Kristoff gestured to her hand as they rode back.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t want it to get swollen.”

“No, I mean, thank you for everything tonight.”

“Oh. Um, yeah.” He just looked out the window and shrugged.

Anna put her hand on top of his, and Kristoff forgot how to speak.

After they got back to the palace and a very annoyed doctor took a look at Anna’s hand, Kristoff walked her up to her room.

It was almost midnight, and Anna was typically a night owl, but she looked exhausted and Kristoff knew she needed some sleep.

Every night, he stood watch at her door until midnight when Olsen would take over for the night shift.

He would go home, then come back at ten in the morning.

But strangely, and not for the first time, Kristoff didn’t want to go home. There was no reason for him to stay, so why did he want too?

They reached her door and stood in front of it awkwardly.

“You should get some rest,” he said, not making eye contact.

“I’m kind of tired tonight.”

“Then you should definitely sleep.”

“And you, too! You should also sleep. You seem a little tired.”

“Maybe a little.”

“Then, uh yeah!” Anna clasped her hands awkwardly and cringed at the sound. “To bed we go! I mean – not…we need to – sleep. I mean, obviously – okay goodnight, Kristoff!”

“Goodnight, Princess!” What the hell was he shouting for? For some reason he wanted to whole palace to hear how normal and casual their interaction was. “I’ll, um, I’ll be here for another fifteen and then Olsen will, uh, switch. Like she does every night.”

“Yup! That’s the plan. I think it’s a very good plan.”

“Yeah, remind me to tell Mr. Novak he’s created a really good system.”

“Will do! I’ll remind you in the morning – when you get back. Because you need to get going soon. To your place.”

“Where I sleep.”

“Exactly.”

Kristoff finally looked into her eyes and felt a shiver run down his back. “You should probably, uh,” he gestured to the door awkwardly. “You know. Go to bed.”

“And you should go home. To also go to bed.”

Their mouths ran in circles, but Kristoff’s body was so stiff he didn’t know if he could move. “Yeah. Because I sleep there and you sleep, uh, in there.”

“Uh-huh,” Anna bit her lip and looked up for a second before remaking eye contact. She took a shaky breath and stepped closer.

Kristoff felt his body hum.

“But…sometimes I have trouble sleeping.”

“…oh?”

She just nodded her head, slower than was necessary. “I’m…scared of the dark.”

That wasn’t true at all. They both knew it.

“You’re lying,” he forced out, voice wavering.

“What if I wasn’t?” Anna took another step closer. Her eyes were more perilous than he’d ever seen them.

Kristoff couldn’t breathe. He was lightheaded and suddenly weak. He felt like he was dying. “W-what?”

“If I _was_ scared, would you protect me from the dark, Kristoff?”

Perhaps a little death was simply required in this situation, because all Anna had to do was brush her hand against his and Kristoff saw stars.

“Bjorgman!” They both jumped apart at the sound of his name.

Lana Olsen was walking toward them from the end of the hall. She was shorter than Kristoff, but built of muscle and quick reflexes and he would bet money she could beat the shit out of him.

She had a small, knowing smile on her face that Kristoff didn’t like.

“Came in a few early today,” she continued, fixing the earpiece into her ear. “You’re free to go.”

“Oh, right. Um, thanks Olsen.” He turned back to Anna. “Uh, goodnight, Princess. See you in the morning.”

“See you in the morning.” Anna awkwardly nodded, then waved at Olsen. “Hi, Lana! It’s so nice to see you, but I’m very tired and have to go to bed – okay goodnight.” And with that she opened her door and slipped inside.

“I should get going,” Kristoff said as he ducked his head and began his journey down the hall, finally feeling his body begin to loosen up.

“Get some sleep,” Olsen said, her tone unusually light.

“I’ve been told.”

But Kristoff didn’t get any sleep that night.


End file.
